Where We Stand
by L. Elizabeth1
Summary: new student Mina Harker, former vampire hunter comes to Cross Academy to help spark Chairman Cross' dream of peace in the European Vampire Hunter Council. Parings will follow as the store progresses.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Vampire Knight nor any of its characters. I do, however, own my own characters situtations and places.

Mina sat in the large front parlor of her family's ancient home on the outskirts of London, she was reading Hamlet when her older brother and father came into the room. William, her father was a tall man who, even in his fifties had a muscular build and a full head of thick salt and pepper hair. He had a matching beard and mustache and piercing dark blue eyes. Joseph, Mina's brother was the spitting image of his father. His body was strong and toned, being twenty-five, he lacked the grey hair that his father had as well as the facial hair. Instead of his father's blue eyes, however, he had inherited his mothers beautiful jade green eyes.

"Mina! The Wellingtons will be here at any moment, go put on something more presentable." Her father admonished. Mina glanced down at what she was wearing, finding no fault in her faded jeans and black tank top, she shrugged and went back to reading her favorite play. "Joseph, make her change!" her father changed his tactics, Mina usually listened to her older brother.

"Mina, why don't you put on that lovely light blue sundress that mother bought for you in Paris?" Joseph gently patted his sister's raven black hair. Dark blue eyes looked up from the book quickly and then back down without any sign of any more movement.

"I'm seventeen, not four. If I don't want to put on a sundress that makes me look like a frilly tart, then I wont." Mina answered dully. Joseph had to smirk at her response but was still not going to give up.

"I will tell the maids where your chocolate stash is if you don't go put on something more presentable." Joseph threatened. Mina quirked an eyebrow and sighed, he had won.

Mina stood gracefully and gave her brother a good hard shove on her way out the door. Rubbing his bruised shoulder he turned to his father.

"You know she will never go through with this." William stood straighter.

"She is my daughter, Joseph, she will do whatever is in the best interest of this family, whether she likes it or not." He took a seat on the couch his daughter just left.

"She is strong willed and very stubborn, she is on the edge of revolution as it is! If we force her into something she isn't ready for, we may loose her." Joseph warned.

Just as William was about to speak, the doorbell rang and a maid swept forward to answer the door. The visitors were ushered into the parlor and William stood to shake hands with his good friend Liam Wellington, his wife Emily and their son Jacob.

Lacking the muscular features of his friend, Liam was a short portly man who had very little hair on his head. His eyes were small and dark, lacking laugh lines around the edges. Liam was a very serious man who, even in his youth, took a no- nonsense attitude. Emily Wellington was a severe looking woman with sharp features and an even sharper tongue. Always the head of the gossip circles, she could make or break a young man or woman's reputation on a whim. Being very rich and influential, the couple had no qualms of stepping on people to place their selves higher in society. Their son Jacob had the good fortune of inheriting only the best features from both parents. He had short dark brown hair and soft brown eyes, he was tall and lithe having not an ounce of fat in any wrong place. He was also exceptionally vain about his appearance and took great care in his clothes, hair, and mannerisms. Being a notorious ladies man, his mother took great care in repairing any hitches in his reputation .

"Wilamina will be down shortly, you know how long it takes for ladies to be sure they look their best!" William joked lightly and the other in the room laughed softly in agreement. "Please let me offer you drinks." He clapped and a maid came around the corner to take drink orders.

"How is dear Ruth? Is she enjoying her stay in France?" Emily asked with her shrill voice as she sipped on her sherry.

"Oh fine, fine. She is having a wonderful visit with her sister and mother. Shopping every day I might add." William nudged Liam and winked.

"Oh do these women know how to shop!" Liam agreed with a laugh.

"Oh stop now!" Emily laughed with a fake blush.

As the conversation carried on, it was obvious that all the members of the room where looking around to find the whereabouts of the young Wilamina. Taking this as a clue, Joseph excused himself to go fetch his sister.

"Mina darling?" he knocked on his sister's door before opening it. The sight before him made him sigh. Mina's room was dark, the paint a deep shade of red with the curtains being even darker. Littered around the room where scattered clothes, CDs, and random sheets of music. Mina was sitting on her bed in the same jeans and tank top, playing a few chords on her guitar before writing notes on a notepad. She looked up at her intruding brother.

"What?" she deadpanned.

"I know you are not fond of the Wellingtons, but it is important to father that you come down and visit." Joseph rifled through her large closet and picked out a long dark blue skirt and threw it at her. "Loose the jeans, keep the tank if you must but come down or I will tell dad where you run off to every Friday night." His voice held no room for argument as he left her room.

"She will be down in just a minute." Joseph smiled to the guests. He took his seat next to the youngest Wellington and joined in the conversation. A few minutes later, Mina walked into the room wearing the skirt her brother had thrown at her head. She gave no smile but shook the hands of the guests dutifully and went to sit next to her brother.

"Wilamina you look ravishing." Jacob winked at her in a sultry manner. She ignored him and took a sip of her brother's gin and tonic. What she wanted to say was, _"Bite me pervert."_ But figured she would probably get in trouble if she did.

"Wilamina dear, when do you start school again?" Emily asked politely.

"Actually I am thinking about quitting school and becoming a rock star, I've also given a lot of consideration into shaving my head and getting a number of tattoos." Mina responded wickedly, keeping a pleasant smile on her face. Emily and Liam laughed uncomfortably, hoping that she was joking.

"You do have such a wonderful sense of humor!" Jacob laughed. Mina smirked, she was only half serious anyway. William and Joseph gave each other tight looks, knowing that if Mina wanted to shave her head and join a rock band, a freight train wouldn't stop her.

"Let us get down to business shall we?" Liam interjected. Mina raised a brow at the turn in conversation. "We should plan the date now; of course the women will have to organize such things as flowers and announcements…" Mina looked to her brother quizzically while Liam was speaking.

"Hold on, what are you talking about?" Mina asked suddenly, cutting Liam off.

"The wedding of course, dear!" Emily laughed.

"Who's wedding?" Mina asked confused. Emily and Liam looked at each other in silent question, Jacob raised a brow, William steeled himself for the fight he knew was about to occur, and Joseph looked as if he was going to be ill.

"Your's and Jacobs of course!" Emily stated, looking around as if to ask why the bride hadn't been informed she was going to be wed.

"I'm not marrying Jacob." Mina said flatly, still unsure of where all this was going. "Joseph, what the hell is this hag playing at?" Mina raised her voice.

"Why I never!" Emily gasped. William stood and walked over to his daughter.

"Do not be rude to our guests Wilamina! It is in the best interests of this family that you should marry Jacob. You will do as you are told." Mina took a step back and looked at her brother pleadingly.

"I wont marry this git. Nor will I be forced to marry any other weak pansy you put in front of me." She steeled her gaze at her father. He in turn slapped her hard on the face. She raised her hand to where her father had just hit her. The room fell silent, and started to get colder.

"Mina, Mina! Calm down!" Joseph grabbed his sister from behind and held her. "You need to calm down." The room kept getting colder, making everyone's breath appear as puffs in front of them.

"Joseph, take me out of here before I kill someone." Mina whispered darkly. Joseph got the message and led his sister out of the parlor and out the front door. He pushed her into his black Mercedes and they drove off toward the country side.

"What the hell did father think he was playing at, trying to make me marry a _Wellington_?" she vented. "I am leaving, Joseph." She had made up her mind.

"Don't be ridiculous Mina! I'm sure we can talk father out of this stupid idea. He is just thinking about your seat as the future head of the council." He stared out the windshield, watching as the last rays of day touched the Earth.

"I don't want to be the head of the stupid council!" she shouted angrily, making the rear view mirror crack. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "I am leaving tomorrow for a new school. I have already set everything up." Joseph looked over to her quizzically.

"What school?" he asked nervously, already knowing the answer.

"Cross Academy. I've been in touch with Chairman Cross, I want to give his peace a chance." She said with confidence.

"Are you out of your mind?! A school with vampires, run by a former vampire hunter that allows those monsters to attend with humans?" Joseph ran a hand through his short black hair. "Mina, such a peace can never be achieved. Vampires live for human blood, to make peace with them is to put a food stamp on our foreheads and ring the dinner bell."

"I have been in the business of killing vampires since I was three years old, Joseph. I am done." She said with finality.

"There is no way you are going to reconsider is there?" he asked, already knowing the answer. She didn't grace him with one. "What are you going to tell father and mother?"

"That if they follow me, the loose me for good." She responded sadly.

* * *

"Yuuki- chan! Zero- kun!" Chairman cross called out to his adoptive children. Zero sat at the kitchen table eating vegetable soup. His golden eyes looked up slightly as the Chairman entered the room. "Ah there you are! Where is Yuuki?! I have the most wonderful news!" Zero thought the Chairman was too cheerful for his own good and wanted nothing more than to hit him. Instead he turned back to his dinner and ignored his adoptive father.

"I'm here!" Yuuki walked in, her hair still wet from the shower. The scent of her made Zero flinch with thirst, but he suppressed it. "What is it?" she took a seat next to Zero and playfully grabbed his chopsticks from his hand, using them to pick a carrot up from his bowl and eat it. Sighing, Zero grabbed his chopsticks back and pointed to the pot of soup on the stove.

"We are getting a new Day class student!" the Chairman said enthusiastically.

"So?" Zero said without care. "Another screaming fangirl, very exciting." He deadpanned.

"Zero!" Yuuki admonished, playfully swatting Zero on the arm.

"She isn't just any girl, she is a daughter from a very prestigious vampire hunting clan in Europe!" The Chairman explained. This piqued Zero's interest.

"Why does a vampire hunter, want to attend a school full of vampires?" He asked quizzically.

"Because she is just as interested in attaining peace as I am." The Chairman sat down, resting his head on his hand thoughtfully. "If she thinks a peace is possible, then we have our foot in the door to the European Council! They are the biggest organization of vampire hunters in the world. If the European Council follows us, then the world will." The Chairman gazed off, daydreaming about a peaceful existence between vampires and humans.

"That's great! When does she arrive?" Yuuki asked with a smile. She was much more optimistic about such a peace then Zero was.

"Her plane arrives tomorrow, she is going to be here around seven tomorrow night." He smiled at his cute adoptive daughter with pride, at least she understood why the visitor was important.

"Good. At least I wont be the only one here who doesn't think the bloodsuckers are wonderful." Zero grumbled. He was pleased with the thought of having a fellow hunter as a classmate, but apprehensive for her to realize that he was also a vampire.

"I am having Kaname come over to meet with her as well, it would be best if she got to know him and see that he wants the peace as much as we do." The Chairman got up and bid his kids goodnight.

"Isnt it great Zero?! An important vampire hunter from another country! How exciting." Yuuki sat down with her bowl of soup.

Please review and comment!

"Whatever." He sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Vampire Knight nor its characters. I do, however, own my own characters, situations and places.

Mina sat in the back of a sleek limo. She wore dark Prada sunglasses even though it was night, her eyes had bags under them from the long travel from London. She was wearing a black spaghetti strap dress that went down mid thigh, showing off her perfectly toned legs and arms. Her mid- calf black boots were leather and had thick rubber soles. Even though she looked like someone who walked off the catwalk and into a limo, it was all deceiving. Running down her spine, carefully hidden under her dress was a short sword, a knife was held on to her thigh with a leather garter, a dagger was concealed in her right boot and six poisoned senbon were carefully rigged in her long black hair. Even though she believed the Chairman when he said the vampires would not attack her, she never left home without being armed.

They arrived at the school at exactly seven, she gasped when she saw the beautiful grounds. Mina had always been a fan of big old buildings, and she marveled in the beauty of Cross Academy. The driver parked the car in front of what he said was the Chairman's home. He opened the door and she stepped out. The aura of vampires hit her like a ton of bricks and she sighed. _This is going to take some getting used to_.

The door opened to reveal a man with long blonde hair and glasses, he grinned and loudly welcomed her to Cross Academy. She walked up the steps and gave him a small smile, thanking herself for forcing her parents at a young age to let her learn to read, write, and speak Japanese fluently. The years of lessons paid off and she spoke to him with barely an accent.

"You have a lovely school." She said with a smile as she walked into the house. She could feel the presence of three vampires in the other room, but none of them felt menacing. The Chairman thanked her and escorted her to the room where the vampires were. She felt herself tense and had to force herself to remain calm. The door opened to reveal four people in the study. A girl with short brown hair and a warm smile greeted her and introduced herself as Yuuki. She pointed to the young man standing next to her, with silver hair and golden eyes as Zero. He held her gaze, as if awaiting judgment. He knew that she could tell he was a vampire and for a reason she could not understand, he seemed ashamed of that fact. Mina just nodded to him, looking him square in the eyes and keeping her expression soft. She saw him visibly relax after that.

Mina then looked to the other two vampires in the room. The one with shoulder long brown hair and handsome features introduced himself as Kaname Kuran. Mina stiffened with the reveal of his name; pureblood. The last to introduce himself was a handsome blonde with a gentle smile, Takuma Ichijo.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all, I am Mina Harker." She bowed slightly, not taking her eyes off of the vampires in the room.

"Harker?" Zero asked incredulously. Mina smiled slightly, he had heard of her family. "My parents were hunters, they told me when I was younger about the famous Harker family. One of the first vampire hunter clans in the world." He said in awe. Mina understood where the shame he produced earlier had come from. He was a hunter that had been turned into a vampire.

"That is correct, John Harker was one of the first vampire hunters in the world. He was also an inspiration for Bram Stoker's book _Dracula_. Although most of the book was fiction, John Harker lived hundreds of years before Stoker's character."

"Wow that is impressive!" Yuuki said with a genuine smile. Mina wasn't used to such honest displays of emotion and was immediately fond of the girl and her happy nature.

"I am sure you are very tired from your journey so lets make this meeting brief so you may rest." The Chairman came from the doorway with a garment bag in his arms. "These are your new uniforms, you are expected to wear them on school days, but you are allowed to wear normal clothes on weekends. You are not to leave school grounds without my expressed permission, even though I am sure you are quite capable of handling yourself in a fight, I would prefer if you never get into such a situation since there are vampires in town who are not so friendly. You are also to remain unarmed so I am going to need to confiscate your weapons, except for your short sword which you may keep since you agreed to the position of Guardian."

Mina narrowed her eyes at that. He had noticed her carefully concealed weapons, he must have been one hell of a hunter.

"Since we are trying to establish a peace, I would appreciate if you refrained from killing any of the night class." The pureblood Kuran said as well.

"I came here with the open mind for peace, I will not kill and member of the night class." She reassured. "But if they get any funny ideas about my blood, or the blood of any of the day class I will not hesitate to firmly dissuade them." She added with a stern look at each vampire in the room.

"Well now that we got that business out of the way, Yuuki can show you to your dorm. You will not have a roommate as you requested, and since tomorrow is Saturday please catch up on your sleep." The Chairman smiled.

"When am I to learn the duities of being a Guardian?" Mina asked.

"Yuuki and Zero will show you the ropes Monday, so enjoy your weekend and let your body adjust to the change in time zone." Yuuki walked over and took the garment bags from The Chairman and asked Mina to follow her. Mina set her two knives and senbon on the Chairman's desk before following Yuuki out the door.

"She is powerful." Kaname stated as he heard the door close. "The air around her was pulsing from her aura."

"She is the strongest Harker in four centuries. I've been reading her file, and it is a bit disconcerting." The Chairman said, smile gone.

"What does that mean?" Zero asked tensely.

"Lower level hunters average about four vampire kills before they are killed. A good hunter can make it up to ten, an excellent hunter can make it to thirty but mostly level E and D vampires with the occasional level C. It is a rarity that a hunter can kill more than one level B in a lifetime and it is an amazing feat if a hunter manages to bring down a pureblood singlehandedly. In fact, history only records this ever happening three times." The Chairman took a seat behind his desk with a sigh. He picked up the small dagger that belongs to Mina and twirled it around in his hand thoughtfully. "Wilamina Harker has killed forty- eight level E vampires, twenty- nine level Ds, sixteen level Cs, eleven level Bs and one pureblood, with a total of one hundred and five vampires in the time between her first kill at three years old to seventeen which she is now." Chairman Cross looked up to the astonished faces in the room.

"How is she so strong?" Ichijo asked in awe.

"I don't know, but she is the pride and joy of the European council. If she wants peace, if she is willing to never hurt another vampire again to achieve an end to this war, then it wont be long before the council follows."

"We will do our best to prove that such a peace is possible." Kaname responded. He narrowed his eyes in thought about the petite young woman who had just left the room. Her aura was dangerous and yet it intrigued him. He bowed slightly to the Chairman and took his leave with Ichijo close behind.

"Are you okay?" Chairman Cross asked Zero who was deep in thought.

"Fine." He grunted and left the room for his own dorm. He knew that the Harker family was powerful, but he had no idea that such a powerful hunter had existed. Whats more, she knew that he was a vampire, and a hunter and she didn't seem to look upon him with distain. He was expecting her to look at him as if he was an idiot for not killing himself when the vampire thirst had started to kicked in. He had expected her to treat him with disrespect for being a disgrace to the name of vampire hunter. But she didn't, and that frustrated him.

* * *

Mina walked beside Yuuki as they entered the Sun dorm. Yuuki happily chatted away, pointing out where classes were held, and where the cafeteria was as well as the general history of the school. She asked random questions about her family and her likes and dislikes, trying to get a feel for the hunter.

"What happened to Zero-san?" Mina asked suddenly. Yuuki knew what she was asking and smiled sadly.

"His family was killed by a pureblood. They were hunters and they killed the pureblood's lover and she retaliated and killed them and bit Zero. He was only a boy then. But Zero is strong and he fights the vampire side of him very hard. He came to live with the Chairman and I right after his family died." They turned a corner and walked up a flight of stairs.

"That's sad, I have known many families lost to vampires. Many friends who died." Mina looked at the tense expression on Yuuki's face and grabbed the girl's hand as she halted. "I made a promise to not kill the vampires here, that includes your Zero. It is obvious that you care for him very much and that he cares enough for you to keep fighting the thirst. It is also obvious that you let him drink your blood Yuuki. I can see the faint scars on your neck." She touched the girl's neck. Yuuki blushed and turned away. "Tomorrow, send Zero to my room around noon. I have something that might help him control his bloodlust." Mina said thoughtfully. Yuuki's expression brightened.

"Really?! You will help Zero?" Mina nodded and Yuuki bowed deeply thanking her. They proceeded down a hallway to a door at the far end. Yuuki fished a key out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She handed the key to Mina. "This is your room, if there is anything you need, just let me know! Goodnight Mina-san!" she bowed again and handed the girl her new uniforms and left Mina to get herself adjusted in her new room.

Mina turned on the light and glanced around her suite. It had a sitting room and a door leading to her bedroom. She also had a personal bathroom and shower. She silently thanked the Chairman for catering to her special request for privacy. She had a rather hostel temper and didn't want a roommate to accidently ignite it. Mina unpacked her suitcase, hanging her clothes as well as her new uniforms in her closet. She placed a small picture of her and her brother Joseph on the nightstand next to her alarm clock, and unpacked her toiletries before stepping into a hot shower.

* * *

At noon there came a knock at Mina's door, she looked up from the book she was reading and said, "Come in." Zero came in and closed the door behind him. Mina put her book down and smiled softly. "Zero-san, please sit, make yourself comfortable." Zero nodded tightly and sat down on the couch next to her, his spine stiff as an arrow. "Please be at ease, I asked you here to help you. I know that you are fighting desperately to keep a hold of your humanity, and it is a quality I admire." Zero faced her and relaxed a fraction of an inch. "I have a friend who was bitten by a pureblood when she was only thirteen years old. She managed to survive because she was strong, but her family wanted to kill her and 'put her out of her misery'." Zero looked down with shame, but Mina continued. "I wouldn't allow it, I stood up for her in front of the council and offered to help find an alternative for blood. You see, my mother's side of the family have been chemists for centuries and for years before this incident I had been working on a blood substitute pill." Zero looked at her astonished.

"You were the one who created the blood tablets?" he asked, shocked. Mina smiled and blushed.

"My aunt and I made the first successful batch on my tenth birthday." She said proudly. "But the problem was, my friend couldn't take the tablets. Her body rejected them just as I am sure your body rejects them." Zero nodded in confirmation. "I set off to develop a treatment for the prevention of a vampire becoming level E." She sighed. "The council was strongly opposed to my work, deeming it unnecessary, but I wanted to save my friend. She fought very hard every day, and I ended up having to sneak her bags of blood from the hospital for her to keep her wits about her. It took almost two years, but I made a treatment course." Mina said proudly and drew Zero's attention to a small box on the table in front of them. She opened the box and in it sat ten vials of black liquid. "Drink one vial once every two months." She handed the box to him. "This will prevent you from turning level E, and it will soon make you body tolerate the blood tablets. My dear friend now lives a quiet life in the south of France with a level C husband and a small daughter and she has never felt the thirst nor desire for human blood since beginning the treatments." Zero handled the box with awe and looked at the hunter.

"Why did you make such a treatment? Why care at all for vampires?"

"Because I don't like being a monster either." She said simply and smiled. Zero stood and bowed deeply, thanking her. "Zero-san." She called as he was about to leave. "I don't want to get out of shape being here, do you mind a sparring partner occasionally? Hunter to hunter?" Zero smirked and nodded.

"Anytime."

* * *

The weekend came and went and Mina slowly got used to the change in time zone. She called her brother to assure him that she was fine and that she was not being eaten alive by hordes of hungry vampires. Joseph did not appreciate Mina's sarcasm, but was happy to hear she was okay. Mina also investigated the cafeteria and spent most of Sunday with Yuuki and Yuuki's roommate and best friend Yori. They showed her around the campus and explained what they were doing in class. It felt strange to be around so many normal humans, people who didn't know about the existence of the supernatural, the blissfully ignorant she liked to call them. Zero had made an appearance here and there but always excused himself if the topic of conversation turned too "girly" for his taste. Yuuki explained what her role as a guardian would entail and when they would go on patrol.

The first day of classes went surprisingly smooth, even with several students asking her hundreds of questions, one of the more frequent questions being how she ended up with the title of 'guardian'. When classes ended, Yuuki and Zero took Mina to where the night class would soon be. The path from the Moon dorm to the class hall was littered with anxious fangirls shouting names like 'Idol- senpai' and 'wild- senpai'. It was amazing to Mina how devoted these girls were to the night class, and wondered if they would be so enthusiastic if they knew the night class were all vampires.

Mina looked at Zero who was shouting and threatening some young girls that if they tried to get past him that he was going to make them cry. Mina laughed and Zero gave her a withered look.

"Sure you laugh now, wait until a month from now when you have heard these coyotes day in and day out." He remarked smartly, some girls shouted 'Hey!' when they figured out what he meant.

She shook her head and helped keep order with the two other prefects. The gates opened and all the girls obediently parted to clear the space for the night class to walk. Mina looked up and saw the night class for the first time. A handsome blonde with piercing blue eyes led the pack, and she soon discovered that this was the one they all called 'Idol'. He was waving and greeting his fans enthusiastically. The next behind him was a tall red head which the girls called 'Wild' although he looked as if the name was a misrepresentation. A beautiful female with golden hair followed, some of the men in the crowd shouted 'Ruka!' Next were a pair that walked closely together as if they were a couple. The male had red hair and the female wore her blonde hair in pigtails. Bringing up the rear was the pureblood Kuran, and the noble Ichijo whom she met her first night there.

As they passed her, each gave her a meaningful look-over and a respectful nod of the head in which she returned. It was obvious that the pureblood had spoken to the others about her and they kept a respectful distance as they passed. The crowd of fans, however, didn't understand how she could capture the attention of ALL the night class on her first day there. Many interesting rumors were born this day.

Some of the more interesting rumors circulated throughout the week included; Mina was a famous British actor who had met the night class during a ball. Another made her out to be a professional musician who had tutored the night class in music. One made her the former fiancée to Aidou Hanabusa, and that they parted on good terms because she came to realize that his beauty was too perfect to waste on the marriage of just one woman. This specific rumor made her laugh so hard she nearly choked on her lunch. She never confirmed nor denied any of these claims which made them grow more wild and complicated as the weeks progressed.

For the first time in her life, Mina was just another girl in a school. Of course the rumors made her seem more mysterious, she was happy to just go through a normal routine of classes and worrying about math exams. At night she went with Yuuki and Zero to patrol the grounds and catch those brave girls who dared to peek at the night class students in class. Her uncanny ability to find those hidden in even the most creative places, often dissuaded repeat offenders.

One particular night she was on the roof of the class hall staring up at the stars when she felt the presence of a vampire next to her. She turned her head and nodded at the pureblood Kuran.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" she asked unenthusiastically. She didn't really care if he was skipping or not, he was probably more intelligent than the teacher. He took a seat next to her, but far enough away to be respectful.

"I've studied the topic before and felt the need to get some fresh air." He answered, laying down to gaze at the stars with her. "How did you kill a pureblood by yourself?" his question made her tense for a moment.

"I lost nearly all of my blood, broke eleven bones, and had to be hospitalized for six months so I dare say it wasn't an easy venture." She smirked. "I ended up outsmarting him, he was convinced that there was no way I was going to win, and he never put up his full defense. I was hurt badly, he had a moment where he lowered his guard and I took a one in a million opportunity. It ended up paying off and I won." Her eyes hardened at the memory of the battle.

"So the only reason you are alive was because of his pride?" Kaname asked incredulously.

"Pride has been the fall for many. It brings forth the first true lesson in warfare; never underestimate your enemy." Mina looked over at the handsome pureblood and met his gaze.

"How did you really defeat that pureblood? There is something about you that I have never seen in a human, your whole aura is slightly colder." Kaname studied her face for any sign of deceit.

"I'm human, just a bit more complicated than the average lot. I was telling the truth when I said I defeated him with a battle of wits. I am strong, very strong, but in a fair fight against a pureblood I can loose much easier than people give me credit for." She answered truthfully, never breaking his gaze. "Why don't you tell me what is going on between you and Yuuki-chan?" she challenged. He faltered and looked away.

"Our relationship is probably more 'complicated' then you." He answered with a small smile. "I love her dearly, I will protect her with my life." He answered truthfully, turning back to face Mina.

"So does Zero-san." She said. "This is one messed up love triangle she got herself in and I doubt she is aware that both of you are madly in love with her, or the fact that she is in love with the both of you." Kaname's eyes narrowed at the thought of Zero in the equation.

"It doesn't matter if Kiryu-kun is in love with her, she doesn't belong to him." For a fraction of a second, his eyes flashed red. Mina raised a brow at the pureblood's reaction.

"What will you do if she chooses him?" Her question hung in the air, full of tension. Finally his body relaxed and his eyes grew sorrowful.

"If it is Kiryu who would make her happy, then I would stand aside." He said with defeat. Mina sat up and looked hard to the young pureblood. She had never met a vampire of noble class who would put another before their own desires and it fascinated her.

"That is incredibly selfless Kaname- Senpai. You have given me faith in the male species." She said lightly, making Kaname smile slightly. "Alright, star gazing time is over." She stood and held a hand out to the vampire. "Its time for you to get back to class and me to get back to work." Kaname took the hunter's hand and she helped him up, amazed that the hunter would let her guard down enough to make purposeful contact with a vampire. He held her hand for a moment and shook it.

"You have given me faith that a person born to the world of vampire hunting can want peace with vampires. Thank you." He released her hand and disappeared into the night. Mina sighed and released the tension that had built while Kaname had held her hand. It was the first time she had invited a vampire into her personal space, and it took willpower for her body to not go on the defensive. She was beginning to like Cross Academy and the idea of peace.


End file.
